Recently, insurance actuarial firms have estimated that the cost of asbestos claims will explode in coming years.  Currently, outlays for asbestos claims total $54 billion, and some firms predict it to reach as high as $275 billion, according to an article in the Ann Arbor Business Review.

Because the latency period of mesothelioma can be up to 50 years, it is expected that asbestos-related disease claims will continue to rise until 2018, when it will make a steady plateau.  The height of asbestos use in America came during the late ’70s, so many victims have yet to be diagnosed with asbestos complications.  “There are 10,000 deaths a year and that number will climb,” said Dr. Michael R. Harbut, co-director, National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers.